


Lonely Hearts Club

by orphan_account



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 20:12:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13038552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Sungyeol's best love was one-sided.





	Lonely Hearts Club

Sungyeol made a mistake.

Myungsoo had been telling him for months he'd made a mistake-- and a really _stupid_  mistake, at that, but Sungyeol didn't realize how bad he'd messed up until he saw Sungjong for the first time in months. The man was in the elevator, likely on his way to work. He looked beautiful in his black suit-- his hair all done up, just a blush of make-up on his cheeks. Sungyeol lost his breath for a moment and, completely losing sight of his plans, started for the elevator. Sungjong looked up just in time to see him coming and, his eyes widening a bit, pressed another elevator button. The doors began to close, and Sungyeol knew-- _knew_  he must have pressed the "door close" button; but Sungyeol forced his arm between the doors, and pushed them open, and then he was in the elevator and-- no, he couldn't explain why he did it, but he slid his hands over every button on the elevator-- all twenty-four floors. Sungjong had a shocked, angry look about him when Sungyeol stepped away from the floor numbers. Sungjong tried to press one, but, unfortunately, they were not in an elevator that would undo the pressing of a floor number. Sungjong looked at Sungyeol, his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth open; and Sungyeol crossed his arms, and, though he felt guilty, said "You-- you started it."

The elevator was already going up. Sungjong stared at Sungyeol until the doors opened, at which point he tried to escape; but Sungyeol reached out and grabbed his arm, and "Wait--" and Sungjong ripped away from Sungyeol's grip, his frown deepening in anger. Sungyeol stepped in front of him when he tried to leave again, and felt the doors slide shut behind his back, "Stop! Please, can I-- can we talk?"

"Are you kidding me?" Sungjong asked. Sungyeol hadn't heard him speak in months, and his mouth went dry within seconds. Sungjong was looking at him expectantly, though still angry and impatient. When Sungyeol didn't say anything, Sungjong pushed "What?!" and Sungyeol spluttered, "I miss you!"

"Really? After _eight months_ , you miss me? Drop dead." Sungjong said. He tried to shove past Sungyeol, but Sungyeol gripped his shoulders, and "Please don't leave me."

"That's _real_  rich, Sungyeol-- kind of sounds familiar, _doesn't it?_ " Sungjong asked. Sungyeol recalled Sungjong crying, begging "Please don't leave me" months ago-- months and months, when the seasons were different, just a few more weeks from being the same. Sungyeol chewed on his lip, and "Sungjong, I'm really-- I'm so sorry," and Sungjong stepped a foot or two back into the elevator just to get away from Sungyeol. He put out a hand when Sungyeol tried to step closer, "Stay away from me;" but Sungyeol didn't want to stay away because his voice cracked and he was crying, and all Sungyeol wanted to do was hug him.

"I got scared." Sungyeol said. Sungjong laughed, "You think _I_ wasn't scared?"

"I-- I can't handle fear well. I'm a coward, Sungjong." Sungyeol said. It had been so long since Sungyeol had said his name; it had been _so long_. Eight months wasn't forever, but after twenty years of being together-- as friends, and best friends, and nearly something more-- it felt like forever.

"I know you are." Sungjong said. He tucked his arms over his chest; he chewed on his bottom lip, and he trained his eyes on the ground. Sungyeol stepped forward. Sungjong didn't react.

"Can I have another chance?" Sungyeol asked. Sungjong sighed heavily-- and for quite a while. He tucked his hands into his pockets; "You didn't even accept the first chance I gave you, Sungyeol."

"I wish I would have." Sungyeol said. Silence hung over the two for a long time. They passed three floors; so far, that was eight out of the twenty-four. Sungyeol recalled Sungjong pressing the fifteenth floor. He had seven floors to convince Sungjong to at least see him again, else Sungjong might walk out of those elevator doors with the intention of never seeing Sungyeol again.

"Explain something to me, first." Sungjong said. Sungyeol nodded; and Sungjong began, "You confessed to me. After nineteen years of being best friends, you tell me that you've been in love with me from the beginning."

Sungyeol nodded along. He recounted the day he confessed to Sungjong-- some details of which Sungjong recited to him, "I told you... to let me think. It was a lot-- you talked a lot about loving me, and I was overwhelmed. I couldn't give you an answer right away. I left you hanging for a week-- I pretended like nothing happened... and it was wrong."

Sungyeol stopped nodded when Sungjong said it was wrong. He used to think so, too, but Myungsoo-- ever so wonderful Myungsoo, who always talked sense into Sungyeol-- mentioned that Sungyeol _was_  quite overwhelming, and that it was actually quite considerate of Sungjong to think about it instead of reject Sungyeol right away. He may simply be thinking of a way to reject you, Myungsoo said, but at least he's trying to do it in a way that won't hurt you.

"And when I come back to you, and tell you that I think I love you, too, and I want to try... you tell me you can't, and then you disappear for eight months. And now... what? You want me now? Are you sure this time?"

It stung, what Sungjong said; Sungyeol tried to find a way to explain himself. He pushed his hands into his pockets, and he told Sungjong, "Sungjong, I... this is going to sound _so_ stupid."

"You always sound stupid." Sungjong muttered softly, with a bit of a smile on the corner of his lips, and Sungyeol wanted to kiss him. He wanted to pull Sungjong right to him, and kiss him-- or hug him, or just sit here and laugh with him because he'd missed Sungjong so much. Three more floors had passed, and Sungyeol wished the elevator would start going down; he wished the elevator would go away altogether. He wished he and Sungjong were in his apartment; he wished the past eight months had never happened. He wished he hadn't confessed to Sungjong until he'd gotten over his insecure anxiety, because "I had so much doubt in myself, Sungjong. You've always been so precious to me, and I couldn't get it out of my head that I would really mess up a relationship with you. It's so stupid-- and I realize that, now-- and Myungsoo's talked some sense into me these past months-- and I wish it hadn't taken so long, or I wish I would have gotten over it _before_  I said anything to you, because... if I had, these past eight months wouldn't have had to happen, and I could be confessing to you right now for the first time, or later tonight when you might have come over, and you could think about it for the next week, and when you came back to me, and told me that you loved me too, I'd accept it, and I'd be thrilled, and I'd know I'd treat you right because _I love you_. I would already know that loving you is enough, because love means treating people right, just the way they deserve, and I would have done everything for you. I'd still do everything-- I _want_ to do _everything_  for you--"

And Sungyeol stopped talking-- not because he didn't have more to say, and not because he was out of breath, but because Sungjong was in his arms. They were hugging, and it wasn't a dramatic kiss like Sungyeol would have liked-- perhaps would have cried over-- but it was so much more than Sungyeol was expecting, and Sungyeol held onto Sungjong for dear life, and he shed a few tears into his shoulder. Sungjong told Sungyeol, "You're an actual idiot--" and he laughed, but he pulled away and he pulled Sungyeol's ear but it was gentle and he was smiling, and his eyes were sparkling with tears and happiness; and he told Sungyeol, "I'm two floors past my job, and I'm late, but I'll call you, okay? I promise," and Sungyeol said "I'll cook dinner tonight," and Sungjong said "And you'll eat it by yourself because I'm not available until Saturday," and Sungyeol said "I'll cook until you come eat with me," and Sungjong smiled, "Deal;" and only when he walked away did Sungyeol realize how lucky he was.


End file.
